How many Republicans will vote for a Black man for governor?

“Although slavery may have been abolished, the crippling poison of racism still persists, and the struggle still continues.” — Harry Belafonte, 2010

With U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds one step closer to the Governor’s Mansion, Republicans in general and MAGA in particular face a choice: Will they vote for a Black man to be Florida’s chief executive or opt out and open the door for Democrats?

Now that Donalds is in a competitive race in a Republican-heavy state, there are distinct rumblings in GOP-land about whether the party — and especially the far-right conservative, white nationalist faction — will ever vote for a Black man.

There are no simple answers because this is, after all, Florida. Little is black and white, issues are mostly colored grey, coated in nuance and subtlety.

President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Donalds turbocharged his campaign, offering the impetus that has guaranteed wins for a significant number of MAGA Republicans seeking office this election season in other parts of the country.

Racial bias is a key ingredient of the state’s distorted DNA. In its 181-year history, the Sunshine State has never voted for a Black governor, male or female, Democrat or Republican, not because there were never any competent, qualified Black candidates. Only three states have elected Black governors. 

Time will tell whether Donalds can scale this obstacle.

Historic milestone

A Donalds election as Florida’s first Black governor would represent a historic milestone, but there’s a significant divide among Black people in Florida and even among political observers. Black Westchester publisher Damon K. Jones captured their dilemma in an Aug 20 op-ed.

“He is poised to become Florida’s first Black governor. But this moment is not being celebrated in quite the same way among Black Floridians and Black political analysts nationwide,” Jones explains.

“The rift illuminates how America talks about race and representation more than it highlights anything about Donalds himself. For others, the criticism stems not from Donald’s race, but instead his political beliefs and what they see as his race being exploited by a party which they feel willfully works against Black political and economic interests when it comes to issues like voting rights, criminal justice and civil rights enforcement.”

People who believe this see celebrating a “first” as a hollow gesture in the face of policy positions that person espouses, and they argue that having a representative without unity on key issues is not the type of progress praised in these situations, Jones added.

“Some of the criticism goes a step further by accusing the GOP — whether intentionally or not — of attempting to downvote fraud claims, weakening criticism of the GOP’s positions on race-centric policies by electing Donalds, a Black person, who can help defend their policies,” Jones writes.

Primary results

Donalds’ primary win prompted conversations about the viability of his general election campaign. It didn’t take long for political pundits like 610WIOD’s Manny Munoz and comedian and television host Bill Maher to say the quiet part out loud.

“It’s not me suggesting that maybe Byron Donalds didn’t get votes because he’s Black. Republican primary results tell the story,” Munoz wrote in an Instagram post following Donalds’ win.

“You look at the map of the Republican primary results last week and the map alone will tell you. Byron Donalds lost 17 counties across Florida. In 16 of the counties, 92% of the voters are white. In counties which were more diverse, Byron Donalds won 39 of the 40 counties. But he lost in rural, Northern, MAGA counties.”

In these counties, Munoz explained, Donalds won 42% of the primary vote “despite tens of millions spent on advertising and the fact that he had the overwhelming endorsement of President Trump before he was even an official candidate,” Munoz said.

Maher told Donalds on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” (and replayed on Fox News) he believed race played a sizable element in Donalds’ inability to cross the 50% threshold. 

“You did lose the ‘Redneck Riviera’ badly,” Maher said, referring to Donalds’ losses in Calhoun, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hardee, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Washington counties — rural areas where roughly 94% of Republican voters are white, the Redneck Riviera, which is the Panhandle. “I think there are people there who still would not — you’re a Republican, you’re a Trumper — they should love you and they don’t. I think there is still racism.”

Donalds countered: “Let’s talk a little bit about the Panhandle. There are counties we did incredibly well in that we won. There were some counties that we fell a little short in, that’s OK. The No. 1 thing overall, we closed out 48% of the vote in Florida. Eight hundred thousand votes [is] a long way to becoming the nominee.”

Taking issue

Donalds argued race isn’t a factor.

“Florida really has become the microcosm of what we all want,” Donalds said. “It’s a meritocracy. And it’s about the best person with the best views, the best skills, the best talent moving forward to represent your state or to represent a district in your state, and Florida exemplifies that.”

Still, in the Trump-DeSantis era, the Black presence in the federal government, business, commerce, and education is diminishing; so is access to jobs, education, and other opportunities, while discussion of race and racism in schools, the marketplace, and wider community is being curbed.

Voting rights advocate Jasmine Burney-Clark criticized DeSantis as Black Floridians have watched him and his MAGA cronies dismantle their political power.

“Florida has 28 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. After this year’s elections, and barring the November general election results, we are staring at the possibility that just one of those 28 seats will be a Black access seat, also known as a ‘majority-minority district,’” writes Burney-Clarke, founder of Equal Ground Education Fund and Action Fund.

Black progress?

Democratic State Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis considers Donalds an adversary of Black progress.

Her evidence?

Donalds voted against the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and “when asked whether he would support the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act, legislation that I am proud to sponsor, Byron Donalds said NO,” Bracy Davis writes. “That legislation is named for two Black Floridians murdered after dedicating their lives to registering Black voters and fighting for our political power.”

He is also a staunch supporter of ICE-led deportations; said he would use state funding as leverage to compel local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement; is a strong supporter of AI data centers; told FOX49 he would keep Florida’s abortion restrictions in place rather than make them more or less restrictive; wants the state to support pregnancy resource centers and community pregnancy clinics; opposes legalizing recreational marijuana; and wants Florida to repeal the post-Parkland restriction preventing people younger than 21 from purchasing long guns.

Bumpy ride

Donalds had been hoping for a smooth ride on the Trump train into the governor’s office, but things aren’t going as planned.

Trump is enjoying record disapproval numbers — with a net approval rating of -29, Newsweek reports — dogged by a deeply unpopular war against Iran he started that is dragging on into its seventh month. The war and Trump’s tariffs have jacked up the cost of gasoline and grocery staples, producing deep anger among the electorate and tarnishing the Republican brand and MAGA conservatives like Donalds closely aligned with Trump. 

That has produced what The Independent calls “a surprisingly competitive race,” with Donalds, a three-term congressman, and the Democratic candidate, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, in a dead heat, separated by one percentage point in one poll, according to Florida Politics.

Meanwhile, Donalds tried to leap off the good ship Trump and put as much distance between himself and the embattled president as he can. Last week, news outlets report, Donalds scrubbed most Trump references from his website.

“Donalds has long tied himself to Trump, but on Sept. 22 he erased nearly all references to the president on the website, an indication that the campaign might see the leader of the Republican Party as a drag in the tight race against Democrat opponent David Jolly.” News of the mass deletion was first reported by the Miami Herald. 

Trump’s endorsement of Donalds once dominated the website, but it has now been relegated to a separate page under endorsements, although it still includes a photo of the president and the candidate. There are two other minor references to Trump, as well, the story said.

Donalds, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, castigated the news media for hyping what he called a non-story, insisting the move represents a shift toward the electorates’ priorities including affordability, the cost of insurance, and property tax relief.

Trump meanwhile, defended Donalds while characterizing the coverage as “Another Fake Story.” He also said two rallies were still scheduled in Florida to support the campaign. 

“If Florida thought the story that Byron ‘dropped’ me was true, he would lose the Election, and that would be a terrible thing because he’s going to be a fantastic Governor!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Courtesy of Florida Phoenix